U-T Multimedia

Norv Turner thought for a moment, mulling over last December's improbable run to the playoffs and a January postseason victory. Then he nodded in assent.

The coach who rarely has heard an assertion by a reporter he can't in some way refute, shrugged and agreed that this past month is the best the Chargers have played since the end of the 2007 season.

These five weeks, which have seen them go from 2-3 to 7-3, placing them atop of the AFC West and into conversations about the teams that could be playing in February, the Chargers that host the Kansas City Chiefs today are certainly as balanced and complete and consistent as they have been in a while.

The man who took so much wrath for saying in September his team was not as good as people thought is now guiding the team he figured he would be in later November — still with blemishes but getting better and learning how to play with each other.

“It's not an offensive deal,” Turner said. “It`s a team deal. It has to do with your kicking game and not giving up points. The better you play on defense, the better you can balance out your offense. Obviously, the better balance you have on offense, it helps your defense.

“You could sit here and debate which has the stronger effect on each other, but I do know they affect each other.”

The Chargers have scored 30 points in three of their past five games, something they didn't do a single time in the first five games of the season.

Yet, while it might be an offensive renaissance that has turned the Chargers around, it has not been an offensive explosion.

The Chargers were averaging 361 scrimmage yards per game, 14th in the NFL, in starting the season 2-3. Since then, their 338 yards a game ranks 23rd.

And that's just fine with them.

In four of the past five games, the Chargers have run more than they've passed. And while they're paying their quarterback a princely sum, they'll gladly turn him into a ball-handler and game manager rather than regularly relying on him as a savior.

Consider: Since 2006, the Chargers are 8-1 in games in which Philip Rivers passes for 145 yards or less, including last Sunday.

Rivers has in the past two games thrown 47 passes, just two more than he threw against Baltimore in September and fewer than he has had in consecutive games since victories over Oakland and Houston (32) in October 2007.

Now, Rivers has completed 37 of those passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns (for a 121.3 passer rating) while his running backs have gained more than twice as many yards running the ball (591) in the past five games than they did in the first five (288).

“Philip is playing well,” Turner said. “(Controlling the ball) does help the quarterback play well. As I feel, you've got to be a complete team.”

The Chargers' 20 sacks is their most in a five-game stretch since former defensive coordinator Wade Phillips took his brilliance to Dallas following the 2006 season.